The auburn haired boy
by mycookiegirl
Summary: What if Pony suffered fatal injuries from the church fire? What if they were so bad...he passed away? Would Darry and Soda ever be able to move on?


**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
So here's my second one-shot written in Darry's perspective. I guess I could try writing one in Soda's, but…I don't know :D**

Ponyboy's hand was cold when I stroked it. He was breathing, but he wouldn't wake up. Out of Pony, Johnny and Dallas, Pony had suffered the worst injuries; the roof collapsed while he and Johnny were in the church, but Johnny had fallen on top of Pony who got trapped under a piece of burning wood.

He had broken both his arms and legs, and his back couldn't be repaired. If he did ever get better then he'd be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, same as Johnny is he ever got better.

Looking at my baby brother's lifeless body made me feel so awful; I had caused all this hadn't I? So what if Pony had come home late; I had done it before and dad had never hit me!

I sighed and ran my left hand through my hair while clasping Pony's ice-cold hand with the other. What if he didn't wake up?

"Is the kid alright?" Steve asked, sitting down opposite me. This angered me a lot; Ponyboy could die, and Steve was still referring to him as _kid_?

"Yes _Steve_ , _Ponyboy's_ fine," I growled, glaring at him. Steve stared down at the floor embarrassed, and I was about to say something else when I decided not to; my baby brother was awfully sick, and the last thing he needed was for me to start an argument. It wouldn't be good for when he woke up…which he _was_ going to!

My eyes drifted to Soda who was asleep on some chairs. He'd hardly slept for the past week, and I was glad that he was finally relaxing. I smiled and then looked down at my baby brother once again, and I felt tears come to my eyes.

 **XXX**

" _Darry, would you like to hold your baby brother?" mom asked weakly, holding the baby out to me._

 _I was a little wary at first; Soda already got more attention than me – what if this new baby took all of mom and dad's attention?_

" _No thank you," I answered, stepping back._

 _Dad grinned and ruffled my hair, and then took my new baby brother from mom's arms._

" _Don't be shy, Darrel; I think somebody's eager to meet you," he claimed, handing me the sleeping baby._

 _Since I was sat down, dad put the baby in my lap, and I made sure to support the baby's head; I had been taught to do that when Soda was born._

 _Looking down at the baby, I assumed I would hate him; weren't two babies enough for mom and dad? But when he opened his big eyes and stared at me, I couldn't help but feel warmth in my heart; he was so beautiful._

" _Hello baby, I'm Darry: you're biggest brother," I told him, shifting slightly to get a better look at him. He continued to stare at me, and I couldn't help but stare back._

" _His name's Ponyboy," mom said gently, smiling at me and the baby._

 _I nodded and looked at Soda who was asleep on mom's bed; he didn't understand babies yet and was confused at what all the fuss was about. To be honest I felt the same way, but now I saw why; babies were cute, beautiful and heart-warming, and they were so tiny and precious._

" _Well hello there, Ponyboy. Do you like your name? I think it's cool," I stated, smiling at his drooping eyes._

 _I felt that it was time to give Ponyboy back to mom since he was falling asleep, but when I moved to get up he gently clasped my hand. Amazed, I beamed at my baby brother and gave a wide grin to both my parents._

" _Look mom! Look dad! He's holding my hand!" I squealed delightedly, kissing Ponyboy's forehead. Mom and dad just cooed at us while I held Pony to my chest and cherished my first moments with him._

 **XXX**

"Do you know if he'll wake up anytime soon?" I asked the doctor who was checking over Pony. Once he was done he observed me, sighed and then shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to tell at this stage," he informed me, leaving the room to check on Johnny. I had already been in Johnny's room that day, and he was really bad, but not as bad as Pony.

Two-Bit came in and Steve left; they were taking turns on seeing Johnny. Soda and I spent most of our time in Pony's room, but of course we checked on Johnny aswell. We didn't even attempt to visit Dally's room; Steve had already tried to visit him and Dally had tried to punch him.

Pony groaned and shuffled, and I hoped it was a sign that he was going to wake up, but he didn't. I leant my head close to his and whispered to him.

"Hey little buddy, do you think you can wake up for me? Me an' Soda are really worried. I promise that when you get home, I will _never_ hit you again, and I'll try not to yell as much. Just please wake up," I murmured and then kissed his forehead.

Suddenly, Pony's eyes started to twitch and his body moved, and then his beautiful green eyes opened! I kissed him once again, and my baby brother gazed at me and smiled weakly.

"I'm gonna miss you, Darry," he told me, and I felt my smile fade. What did he mean?

"What do you mean…you're awake!" I cried, hugging him.

Soda, who had been woken up by the commotion, sat up and grinned.

"Pony!" he exclaimed joyfully.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Soda. I'm gonna miss everyone: Johnny, Two-Bit, Dally, Steve. I'll miss all of you," he whispered, and then his eyes went wide and he smiled.

Soda, Two-Bit and I looked at each with confused expressions on our faces. Why was he going to miss us? Where was he going?

Suddenly, Pony put his hand up in the air, and he looked as if he was taking somebody's hand. He smiled as tears leaked from his eyes, and he held onto the imaginary hand for a while.

His heart monitor started slowing down, and I realized what was happening.

"Pony, no!" I screamed. Pony's hand slowly slipped out of the invisible grip, and his hand fell on his chest. His eyes closed, and he breathed out heavily, and then the heart monitor let out a high deafening beep.

My baby brother's body stopped moving, and his chest wasn't rising up and down anymore. There was no noise from his nose for when he breathed; the only noise in his room was the beep that kept mocking me. It was as if it was laughing at me, screaming that my baby brother was gone.

It took Soda a while to fully take in what had happened. He was suddenly on his knees by the bed, crying into Pony's stomach.

"Ponyboy, come back!" he sobbed, soaking up the white blanket with his tears.

Two-Bit ran out to get some nurses while I just sat there, too stunned to move. My baby brother couldn't be gone; he had so much to live for, so much to see!

It wasn't his time yet, just like it wasn't Soda's or mine, or any of the gang's for that matter. But Pony was the youngest – he hadn't experienced stuff that we had: like having a girlfriend or kissing a girl! He was too young!

The doctors and nurses ran in and attempted to bring Pony back to life, but to no avail. He was gone…my baby brother was gone.

"I'm sorry for your loss," one of the male doctors said before switching off the life support machine. The machine was wheeled off, and Pony's body was left on the bed in the middle of the room.

Soda continued to bawl while Two-Bit rubbed his back. I stood up and wiped away the tears from my eyes, and then clasped my baby brother's hand as he did with mine fourteen, long years ago.

His first smile, his first laugh, his first word - I had been there to see all of them, yet now I'd never see my baby brother smile or laugh or talk again.

Eventually the doctors came in to wheel Pony's body off to another room. Soda got up and even tried to attack the doctors, claiming that they could still save Pony, but I just held onto him while my baby brother's lifeless body was taken away.

Soda struggled with me fiercely and tried kicking me, but I just held him to my chest. He couldn't take anymore, and just started sobbing into my shirt.

Two-Bit left, presumably to go and tell Steve what had happened, and to also give me and Soda some time together. I collapsed to my knees and placed Soda in my lap and let him cry until he was exhausted. It reminded me of when my parents died, but of course Ponyboy wasn't here to join in with the crying.

Also, I was joining in with the crying – I didn't cry when my parents died; I wanted to stay strong for the boys. But I couldn't stay strong now; I had just lost one of them. One of _my_ boys.

 **XXX**

" _Darry?" Pony called, coming into my room. I sighed and hesitated for a moment before telling him to come in._

 _Pony pushed my door open and stood next to me. I was sitting in my bed because I wasn't allowed out of my room since I had been grounded for pushing Pony over while playing football._

" _What do you want?" I growled, clenching my fists._

 _My little brother didn't say anything; he just handed me a sheet of paper and then left the room._

 _On the paper was a drawing of myself, Soda and Ponyboy, with mom and dad in the background. I was holding a large trophy in the shape of a football, and I suddenly realized why he had drawn it._

 _A few weeks ago, I had been in a football game, and my team had won. The day after, we had an award ceremony, and everybody was saying that I would get the trophy, and I was really hoping that I would._

 _When they called our names out, I came second place, and earned a medal. Some soc kid who wasn't even good at football won the trophy instead; his parents had complained that he wasn't getting enough credit for his 'involvement' with football._

 _Everybody was outraged, but I had seen it coming. After the ceremony, Coach pulled me aside and told me that I deserved the trophy and he wrote my name down for it, but the principal had changed it. I smiled and walked away, trying to stop the tears from falling out of my eyes._

 _I told mom what coach had said, and she was more enraged than ever. I heard her and dad talking, but within two weeks the trophy incident was forgotten about. That's how fast you forget things._

 _But here was Pony, drawing a picture of me holding the trophy that I deserved. I didn't deserve for Pony to draw me a picture; I had been horrible to him the past few days._

 _Getting up, I made sure that nobody was looking before walking to Pony's room. He was playing with his toys, so I sat down beside him, and we started playing with his action figures._

 _One week later, Soda came in and set down the trophy that I deserved in front of me. I looked up at him, confused, but he just smiled and winked at Ponyboy, who smiled aswell._

 **XXX**

Soda cried the whole way home. I wanted to cry aswell, but knew that if I did then we could end up crashing. I wasn't going to lose another brother because I'd lost one; if I did then I'd never forgive myself.

I felt like the whole thing was my fault; if I hadn't have hit Pony, then he would have never ran out, and the fire in the church wouldn't have started since Johnny wouldn't have been there; he would have been at home with Pony – where they both belonged.

After I parked the car in the driveway, I just sat there staring at the house. There used to be five people who lived there, and now there would only be two – me and Soda.

I nervously glanced at my remaining brother. He'd probably suffer more than me; he and Pony were very close. Soda would never be able to hold Pony in his arms again, he'd never be able to soothe him after a nightmare, he'd never be able to complain about me to Pony and he'd never get to lay down with Pony.

 _Maybe life couldn't go on without Ponyboy. We might never be able to laugh or smile again._

Those words reminded me of when my parents died. I honestly thought that I'd never be able to get on without them, but obviously we had. But it couldn't be the same with Pony; nobody would be able to move on without my baby brother.

He was everyone's' baby brother really: mine, Soda's, Johnny's, Dally's, Two-Bit's and Steve's. He and Soda were the reason why I was living; they helped me continue with life. But now Pony was gone…so how would I continue?

"We should go in," Soda sniffled, wiping his nose.

I looked at him and nodded; there was no point in staying in the car for the rest of the day.

The two of us walked inside the house, and it felt different. Sure, Pony hadn't been with us for a week which made the house feel different, but this wasn't the same feeling. The house felt like something big was missing, like there was an empty space that could never be filled. It hadn't felt like this when Pony was gone for the week; that feeling was just a depressing feeling.

"Can I sleep on the couch, Darry? I don't wanna sleep in mine and Pony's room or Pony's old room; I'll probably make myself ill," Soda asked, squeezing his thumbs.

I was about to agree, until I saw how lonely Soda looked. He wouldn't be a big brother anymore; he'd just be my little brother.

"You wanna sleep in my room instead? I'll come to check on you later," I offered, and Soda stared at me. Then he nodded his head and smiled slightly.

"Yeah okay, thanks," he said, and slipped into my room.

Pictures of Pony around the room smiled down at me, and I couldn't help but wonder if it meant something. What did a smile mean? What did _Pony's_ smile mean?

As much as I wanted him back, I remembered when I first got to the hospital. Pony looked so sick, pale and small, and I wanted more than anything for him to be at peace, where no pain could bother him anymore.

He was just a little boy, and little boys didn't deserve to endure pain as cruel as what he had. Perhaps mom and dad were already cuddling him, telling him that they had been waiting for him. Maybe now he was waiting for the rest of us.

 **XXX**

" _Hey sport, how was your little hangout?" dad asked, ruffling my hair._

 _I smiled at him, and then high-fived him. He had let me go out to the park with some friends which made me feel free considering that mom and dad hardly let me leave the house without following me._

" _It was great, dad. We played football, and my team won!" I exclaimed, bouncing on my feet._

 _Dad laughed, grabbed me around the waist and then started tickling my stomach. I squealed, and then started crying from laughter. Once he put me down, I was out of breath._

" _Pony missed you a lot today," he commented, and I shrugged._

 _My little brother was very annoying; he always followed me and wanted to play with me! He was part of the reason why I didn't have the freedom that I should have had; he bawled every time I left him._

" _Pony always misses me," I replied, pushing open the front door and strolling into the living room._

 _Mom was sitting on the sofa with Pony in her lap. They were watching some film from 1939, and Pony seemed awestruck while mom continued to knit a new quilt._

 _When she saw me she smiled, and then bent her head and whispered something in Pony's ear. His head shot up and his eyes widened, and I couldn't help but notice how cute he looked. He was five after all._

" _Darry!" he shouted, jumping off mom's lap and running to me. He threw his arms around my waist, and then buried his face in my stomach._

 _I stroked his shoulders and smiled; even though he was annoying, he never failed to make my heart feel warm._

" _Somebody was waiting for you for a long time," mom smiled, going back to her knitting._

 _Looking down at Pony, I noticed that he was close to tears. I put my hands on his shoulders and made him look up at me._

" _What's the matter, little colt?" I questioned, using his nickname._

 _Pony stared up at me for a moment, and then threw his arms around my waist again._

" _I waited for you for so long…and now you're here!" he explained excitedly. I kissed his head and held him, all the time reassuring him that I was home._

 **XXX**

Pony's funeral took place a week after he, Johnny and Dallas died. He had died a day before Johnny did, and then Dally died the same night as Johnny. I had lost three of my brothers, one of them being my brother by blood.

Johnny's parents didn't allow us to attend the funeral which annoyed us all terribly; it wasn't as if they even cared about their son. And since Dallas didn't have any _family_ in Oklahoma, he wasn't even allowed to be buried.

Two socs turned up at Pony's funeral - one I recognized as Cherry Valance, the girl who turned up when Pony and Johnny went missing, and the other was a boy who I had seen but didn't know. He had brown curly hair and was quite tall, though that might have been to do with his age.

The funny thing was though: I didn't see them as socs. I just saw them as two teenagers who were mourning over another teenager's death. Perhaps they didn't see Pony as a greaser either; maybe they thought of him as just a normal person, like themselves.

As the casket lowered, Soda started yelling. I turned him into my chest and let him sob his heart out, all the while trying to stop _myself_ from breaking down.

Two-Bit was crying, and Steve looked as if he was close to it. Other people in the service were crying too, but I barely took any noticed of them. My attention was directed to a boy who was standing by one of the trees by the church.

He was small with an average build, and from what I could tell he looked to be about twelve or thirteen. He had long auburn hair, but I couldn't see his face because his back was to me. It couldn't have been Ponyboy, right? I started walking over to the tree, but I was stopped by a small hand grabbing my wrist.

"Excuse me, are you Ponyboy's brother?" a small voice asked, and I looked down to see a little girl with short black hair and blue eyes staring up at me.

"Yes, I am," I replied, smiling at her.

"He…save-saved me!" she screamed, hugging my leg.

A woman, who I presumed to be the girl's mother, gently tugged the girl off my leg.

"Sorry, she gets a little over-excited sometimes," she chuckled. I smiled at the two of them and nodded, and then looked back at the tree where the auburn-haired boy had been standing. He wasn't there anymore, and I came to the conclusion that I had just been seeing things.

 **XXX**

" _Why do boys kiss girls? Everybody knows that girls have cooties," Pony stated adamantly, biting into his apple._

 _Soda nodded in agreement, but I was too focused one a certain girl in my mind to full contemplate what they were talking about._

" _What's wrong with Darry?" Soda questioned Pony, and Pony looked hardly at me for a minute._

" _I think he might have caught cooties off a girl; he looks a bit love-sick. That's what mom calls it," Pony concluded, and threw his apple at my head._

 _I groaned and wiped the mush off the side off my cheek, wondering why little brothers always had to be so difficult._

" _You two don't understand; you're too little," I asserted, shoving Pony harshly._

 _Pony shoved me back, and then Soda joined in. By the time mom and dad walked in, all three us were rolling around on the floor like animals._

 _Our parents dragged all three of us apart, and we all had to stand in different corners of the living room for five minutes. The three of us spent the whole of our time out giggling and chuckling._

 _When it was time for bed, Pony and Soda crept into my room and sat on the bed._

" _Darry, if you do ever get a girlfriend, will you love her more than me and Soda?" he asked, and I nodded._

" _Definitely," I responded, but felt bad when he pouted. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I mean, having a girlfriend would be tuff, and I'd love her, but I don't think I'd enjoy being around her as much as I like being around you guys. I mean, I doubt she'd like fighting or playing with toy soldiers, so…I wouldn't love her more than you," I affirmed, and Pony and Soda smiled._

 _Mom and dad walked into my room to the next day, only to find that me and my brothers had fallen asleep whilst talking._

 **XXX**

I sat at the table, scanning through some bills while Two-Bit and Steve watched some Marilyn Monroe movie.

Soda sauntered into the kitchen and poured some cereal into a bowl; none of us had eaten chocolate cake since Pony had died.

My little brother sat down next to me, and then he sighed heavily. I put the bills down and smiled at him.

"What's up?" I questioned, pouring some milk in his cereal for him.

Soda looked hesitant to answer and shook his head, but then he finally spoke.

"Am I a bad person?" he asked worriedly. I raised my eyebrows at him, confused.

"Why do you ask that?" I said, urging him to go on.

He looked as if he was about to throw up, but nonetheless continued.

"Well…Pony's been dead for two months now. I still miss him, but whenever I think about him I don't cry anymore. Am I a bad brother?" he uttered, and I shook my head and then smiled at him.

"We can't grieve forever, little buddy. We'll always miss him, and he'll forever be in our hearts, but life goes on," I explained, kissing his knuckle. Soda whimpered, but then he smiled aswell. "Say, this cereal looks a bit dull. How about we get you some chocolate cake?"

Soda grinned then, and I kissed him again before getting up to make the cake. When it was done, I handed him a piece, and then proceeded to give some to Two-bit and Steve. They laughed and took it gratefully, and I then sat down with my own plate.

"I haven't seen Mickey Mouse in a while," Soda hinted and Two-bit immediately snatched the remote from the floor and switched the channels so that a Mickey Mouse movie was playing. None of us had watched Mickey Mouse in the house since Pony died.

It was then that I realized that we were all moving on. None of us would ever forget Ponyboy, Johnny or Dallas, but we couldn't mourn over them forever. I missed all of them, but I remembered that life had to go on.

For the first few months after my baby brother's death, I couldn't stop thinking about Ponyboy. However, as time went on, there were days where I never thought about Pony at all. And it wasn't a bad thing; it had been the same when mom and dad died.

One day, a girl bumped into me while I was on the way home from work. She had long curly hair that was a dark blond shade. Her eyes were brown, like Soda's, but a little lighter.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she apologized, picking up her papers that were scattered all over the floor. I bent down and helped her pick them up, and she smiled at me gratefully.

"It's okay; we all have our clumsy days," I chuckled, and she laughed.

Looking at one of the notebooks, I noticed that she had drawn smile faces all over the front cover, along with some clouds and puppies.

"Very creative," I commented, handing it back to her. She grinned and took it, and then began rushing down the other end of the road.

"Thank you," she shouted. I stared after her, and couldn't help but feel something towards her.

"I'm Darry by the way," I called, and she stopped and then turned around.

"Francesca," she called back, and then left.

I hoped I saw Francesca again; she seemed like a nice girl.

 **XXX**

" _Why's mommy wearing a long dress on this photo?" Pony asked, shoving the photograph into my hands._

 _I sighed and looked at him as if he was the stupidest person ever._

" _It's on her and dad's wedding, dummy. You're supposed to wear a long white dress if you're getting married," I stated matter-of-factly. Pony frowned, and then shook his head._

" _Why isn't daddy wearing a long white dress then? He isn't even wearing a dress!" Pony exclaimed, and I smacked my forehead in frustration. "I'll go and tell daddy that he should have worn a dress on his and mommy's wedding,"_

 _Pony left, so I stayed in the kitchen by myself. Mom and dad had been sorting through their photo albums, and since Soda was at Steve's, I had to stay with Pony and look after the wedding photos._

 _I wondered if I would ever get married. Would my wife wear a beautiful dress? Would Pony and Soda be ushers? Would dad and mom be happy with my choice of wife?_

 _Thinking of Pony, I decided that I didn't want him to get married. He needed to stay little forever, and marrying someone was just too grown up for him. Same as dying really; only grown-ups die._

 _My little brother would never be old enough to die; he was going to carry on living forever and ever and ever, and I'd make sure that nothing would be able to hurt him…or marry him._

 **XXX**

Everybody clapped as I finished my wedding speech. Frances was sitting next to me, smiling as always, with a glass of wine in her hand.

When I sat down, we shared a long kiss, before listening to Soda, my best man, start his speech.

Looking through the crowd of clapping hands, I noticed a boy sitting at the wall. His head was turned to the wall, away from me. He had long auburn hair, and he was short. He looked to be around twelve or thirteen, or maybe even fourteen.

"I'll be right back," I told Francesca, standing up and making my way through the crowd.

The boy was still there. He was swinging his legs back and forth, and his auburn hair was blowing, though there didn't seem to be any breeze in the room.

The boy looked so familiar, but I couldn't remember who he was. Was he my cousin perhaps? Was he even _my_ relative?

"Mom and dad said congratulations, but they couldn't make it," the boy said.

His voice…I remembered that voice.

"I haven't seen you or Soda in person for a while. Life gets bring when you're just staring at people without them actually seeing you," he continued.

It couldn't be…he was gone. This boy…couldn't be _him_.

"I miss you, big brother," the boy whispered, and as I was about to touch him: feel him one more time, I heard somebody calling me.

"Earth to groom! You comin' back, Darry?" Soda yelled, and I turned my body and nodded at him. When I turned back around, the little auburn boy was gone.

It was the same boy who was at Ponyboy's funeral, and I knew without a doubt that it was Ponyboy himself. I smiled and looked at the spot where my baby brother had been. He said he missed me…

" _I miss you too_ ," I said into the air, and made my way back to Francesca and Soda.

 **XXX**

" _Why did they have to die?" Ponyboy asked tearfully, burying his face in my chest._

 _I rubbed his back and hushed him, and slowly rocked back and forth with him._

" _It wasn't their time, I know. There wasn't a reason for why they died…but remember: everybody has to die sometime," I told him, and he nodded._

" _I hope I see mom and dad when I die," Pony stated and I nodded sadly._

" _That won't be for a while though, little buddy," I affirmed, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "We've gotta carry on living,"_

" _I know, I know," he said, burying his face back in my chest._

 _Soda was with Steve at that moment, and I didn't want to disturb them. Seeing Pony by himself, I knew that he needed comfort. He pushed me away at first, but after he broke he let me hold him._

" _I'm glad I have a big brother like you, Darry," Pony smiled, and I smiled back._

" _I'm glad I have a baby brother like you, Pony," I said, and kissed his forehead._

 _He and Soda were going to live with me from that moment on, and I knew that I'd have to start understanding Pony more. Because if I didn't, I knew that we'd probably end up hurting each other in some way, and then we'd leave each other sad. I didn't want my baby brother to be sad, and I didn't want to be sad myself._

 _But even if we did make each other sad, we'd sort it out. We always did; I was going to be with my little brothers forever._

 **XXX**

" _Dad, please wake up,"_

It was quiet when I woke up. I didn't know where I was; the lights were too bright for me to see anything.

" _Come on Darry, don't leave me. Please baby,"_

The lights dulled down slightly, and I noticed that I was in a movie house. Nobody was in the red chairs, except for one boy.

He had auburn hair, and he was facing away from me. As I approached him, he spun around.

" _I love you,"_

Ponyboy? But how could it have been Ponyboy? He had been dead for over forty years!

" _No more pain now, baby; you'll be in a better place,"_

There was a mirror behind Ponyboy, and when I looked in it, I saw that I was my twenty year old self. I gasped, and then looked down at Pony who was smiling up at me.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

" _You'll be able to see mom, dad and Pony, Darry. Oh, I'm gonna miss you so much, big brother!"_

"For what?" I questioned.

He stood up and held out his hand, which I took. He began leading me through the movie house, towards the exit.

" _I'm gonna miss you, dad,"_

When we stepped out, I was greeted by a warm breeze. The sunlight beamed on my face, it's warm rays radiating my skin.

As I looked to the side, I saw that I was no longer holding Pony's hand. He was gone…

" _Bye baby…"_

I noticed that my hand was smaller…and I didn't have the height of a twenty year old anymore, I was certain of it. However, there was no mirror for me to check.

Running though the empty streets, I came across a green field. The sun was beginning to set, and it looked beautiful.

"Darry…" a woman's voice called. "Somebody has been waiting for you for a long time,"

Mom, dad, Pony Johnny and Dallas were all sat in the field, however they weren't how I remembered them when they died. Pony was five, Johnny was seven and Dallas was nine. I realized then that I must have been eleven years old.

Pony jumped up and ran to me, and then he threw his arms around my waist.

"I waited for you for so long…and now you're here!" he exclaimed, and I nodded.

Carrying Pony over to the circle where mom, dad, Johnny and Dallas were sat, I sat down with them and placed Pony on my lap.

"Soda misses you…he misses all of us," dad said. I stared down at the grass, and images of Francesca, Soda, and my whole family flashed through my mind.

"It won't be long before Two-Bit joins us," mom added.

And so we all sat there waiting for the rest of the gang to join us one by one. I watched Soda look after his children and care for his wife, and I watched as Francesca cared for _our_ children. Two-Bit joined us a few months after I died, and he watched his family continue their lives without him.

Pony smiled at me as we both sat together in the field one day, watching Soda and his family.

I smiled back at him, and each day we continued to love each other more and more. You can't stop living just because you lose somebody…I realized that after mom and dad died, and then after Pony died. I was glad that Soda continued with his life too.

That didn't mean I didn't miss him. Pony and I visited him sometimes, and he couldn't recognize us at first, and by the time he did we were gone…just like Pony had done to me; he made me recognize him before he left.

He never wanted me to forget him…and I never did.

 **AN: I hope you enjoyed that one-shot! I should stop with the sad stories…but I love writing them! Please tell me what you thought :D**


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